We must go!
Southwest Military Camp - Commander's Tent
The tent was filled with a strong smell of medicine and blood.
After Gu Jinghong was sent to the Southwest Headquarters, Xiao Chengyan's old injuries relapsed and he fell seriously ill. The generals kept quiet about it, and even the military doctor attended to Xiao Chengyan every day.
He lay on the bed, his forehead beaded with cold sweat, his temples damp, and his shoulders wrapped in thick gauze, through which dark red bloodstains were faintly visible.
The physician's expression was grave.
Upon seeing this, Changfeng's heart leaped into his throat. He lowered his voice and asked urgently, "Physician,... how is the Prince?"
The physician's brows furrowed into a deep frown.
"Your Highness has suffered a great loss of energy this time! The arrow wound on your left shoulder was already dangerous, repeatedly torn open, and the inside had long been festering and suppurating. What's worse, it seems that there is an extremely domineering and cold internal force clashing with the violent true energy in Your Highness's body, which is stuck in your heart meridian and cannot be released for a long time. Instead, it is being forcibly suppressed."
Changfeng's face turned deathly pale.
The prince is the pillar of the Southwest Army. With mountains of military reports, the menacing Nanzhao Kingdom, and the restless vassal kings, none of these can be separated from the prince.
He murmured, "But the prince is the commander-in-chief, this southwest..."
The physician abruptly flicked his sleeve, a hint of anger in his eyes: "Foolish! Commander Feng! Is the burden of the Southwest heavier, or the Prince's life?! Even if it's a thousand-pound burden, it must be laid down now! If anything happens to the Prince, the Southwest will truly be in grave danger!"
Changfeng thought for a moment, then, with his last glimmer of hope, said, "Physician, is there... any other way? If His Highness can get a few days of rest, we can fight to the death to hold on! This is a critical and tense moment..."
The physician shook his head with a wry smile, full of helplessness: "A few days? His Highness's body will probably need to be recuperated for several months."
Just then, a soldier's deliberately hushed voice came from outside the tent: "Commander Feng! There is a woman outside the camp requesting an audience, who calls herself... Yaoshigu Xuanru!"
"Medicine Master Valley?!" A glimmer of hope suddenly appeared in Changfeng's eyes. "Quickly, please come in! Please come in!"
The curtain was lifted, and a slender figure walked in; it was Xuan Ru.
She was still dressed in simple clothes, her hair was slightly loose, and she looked travel-worn, clearly having rushed here.
Her gaze was sharp as lightning; the moment she lifted the curtain, she locked her eyes on Xiao Chengyan on the bed. She merely nodded slightly to the military doctor and Changfeng inside the tent before walking straight to the bedside.
Changfeng quickly made way, his heart filled with anxiety: "Miss Xuanru, please take a look at the Prince!"
Xuanru remained silent, his expression cold and solemn.
She placed three fingers on Xiao Chengyan's wrist, carefully examining it.
The moment he touched the pulse point, his brows furrowed tightly, and his face grew increasingly somber, as if covered with a layer of frost.
A moment later, she abruptly withdrew her hand, turned and glared at Changfeng, her voice as cold as a knife: "Where is that blue brocade pouch that I personally handed to him when we left Medicine Master Valley? He didn't take a single pill inside?!"
Changfeng was intimidated by her imposing manner, his scalp tingling. He quickly said, "Please calm down, young lady! The military camp is full of men. His Highness has always disliked being served personally, especially during wartime when he prefers to do everything himself. As for that brocade pouch... after His Highness accepted it, we... we truly do not know whether His Highness took it..."
"Foolish! You're practically courting death! His internal energy is running rampant, and he's been poisoned, and you didn't even know?!"
Xuan Ru turned pale with anger. "Get out! Don't interfere with my acupuncture! Commander Feng, please manage this!"
Changfeng quickly chased everyone out and, with his personal guards, stood watch outside the camp to prevent anyone from getting close.
...
The quiet teahouse private rooms isolated the outside noise.
Xie Yan leaned back in the armchair, seemingly unconcerned, and picked up a delicate pastry from the plate with his fingertips, putting it into his mouth and chewing slowly. He only glanced at Gu Jinghong sitting opposite him with his narrow phoenix eyes.
Gu Jinghong's gaze fell on his face.
After having his cold marrow removed and recuperating in the Medicine Master Valley for several months, Xie Yan's former sinister and fierce aura had diminished considerably. Although warmth was still hard to find in his eyes, his whole being was like a dusty pearl that had been polished, revealing a subtle and gentle warmth.
But while she was looking at the face in front of her, the next instant, another pale, bloodless, handsome face with dark circles under his eyes unexpectedly crashed into her mind...
Xie Yan paused in his chewing, looked her up and down suspiciously, swallowed the pastry in his mouth, and then slowly said, "Ah Hong, why are you staring at me like that? Could it be that after not seeing me for several months, my face... has become even more handsome?"
Gu Jinghong suddenly came to her senses. Instead of retreating, she leaned forward half an inch, her dark eyes clear and bright, moving slowly and deliberately.
"Handsome? It's more accurate to say 'stunningly beautiful'."
An extremely ominous premonition instantly gripped Xie Yan.
This feeling was exactly the same as when she raised her eyebrows and called him "Xie Yan" just now.
His back tensed imperceptibly, his body leaning back instinctively, his tone wary: "What are you up to now?"
Gu Jinghong's lips curved slightly, and her eyes gleamed with a subtle light: "Isn't Minister Xie always looking for new and interesting fun? Right now there's a very interesting 'game,' I wonder if you'd be willing to give it a try?"
Xie Yan raised an eyebrow, his eyes still showing alertness: "Oh? Tell me about it."
“Simple,” Gu Jinghong’s smile deepened, and he said slowly and deliberately, “You will disguise yourself as a woman and come with me to infiltrate the ‘Drunken Flower Shade’.”
Xie Yan's pupils constricted, and he almost jumped up from his chair: "Gu Jinghong! Are you crazy?!"
Gu Jinghong immediately adopted a wronged expression, her eyelashes fluttering slightly: "...Isn't this game fun? Only by infiltrating 'Drunken Flower Shade' can you sneak into the Prince's mansion... The hawk is still there..."
"Hmph," Xie Yan sneered, his phoenix eyes narrowing slightly, "With my skills, storming into the prince's mansion and taking Hawk's life wouldn't be that difficult. Besides, the southwest region has my Zhuangmu Pavilion's spies..."
"Oh?" Gu Jinghong interrupted him, her voice tinged with coldness. "If that's the case... then whose name just happened to be on that 'cleansing list'?"
Xie Yan's face stiffened, and he turned his head away, his Adam's apple bobbing noticeably.
Gu Jinghong seized the opportunity: "That's true. Although Zhao Qian is not a gentleman, he is good at managing his subordinates. It would be very interesting to capture a hawk alive in his mansion. If you don't go, I will have to go by myself."
After a moment of silence, Xie Yan suddenly turned her head, her eyes sparkling with a breathtakingly alluring charm. She lightly touched her cheek with her fingertips, her words laced with provocation.
"...Very well. But if I, with my looks, accidentally steal your thunder... Sister Hong, don't cry."
Gu Jinghong looked at him, her eyebrows and eyes curved, and the mole at the corner of her eye seemed to leap vividly in her smile. Her smile spread silently like spring water over ice.
That smile caused Xie Yan to feel a sudden, inexplicable panic.
The feeling was so unfamiliar that it surprised even himself, leaving him speechless for a moment.
In his memory, Gu Jinghong had never given him a kind look. She was either cold and aloof, sarcastic, or even physically aggressive and confrontational. She had never shown him such a tender side.
Gu Jinghong rested her chin on her hand, her gaze fixed on the bustling street outside the window.
“Falcon…” she seemed to be talking to herself, “How could he have lived in Zhao Qian’s mansion so peacefully for so long? A prince’s mansion is not a place where ordinary people can easily hide, let alone a ‘Falcon’ who is written into your book of official documents.”
Xie Yan shifted his gaze from Gu Jinghong, his phoenix eyes narrowing slightly, yet revealing a sharp glint.
"The strange thing about this matter is precisely this. On the surface, Zhao Qian is a debauched man with a large number of retainers in his mansion. But at the same time, the prince's mansion is heavily guarded, and ordinary people cannot easily enter or leave. These two things do not seem to be done by the same person... let alone hiding such a dangerous person for a long time."
Gu Jinghong turned to look at Xie Yan: "Yes, a heavily guarded person should be like..."
The sound stopped abruptly.
Xie Yan gave Gu Jinghong a meaningful look.
Then he paused, put the pastry into his mouth, and chewed it slowly, as if savoring the key to its flavor: "In my opinion, there are only two possibilities for why the hawk could stay in the prince's mansion."
While pondering, Gu Jinghong picked up where Xie Yan left off: "Firstly, Hawk is now a hot potato. The secrets he possesses probably touch the most sensitive nerves of both the Lord and Zhao Qian. The Lord wants him to shut up completely, but he is also wary of the fact that Hawk may still have untapped assets, or that Hawk might resort to desperate measures."
"As for Zhao Qian, perhaps he also had some leverage over him, or wanted to use him as a bargaining chip in negotiations with the landlord. Thus, the two reached a subtle 'co-management' agreement, jointly 'guarding' the hawk and jointly 'controlling' him. Zhao Qian provided shelter, while the landlord might send people to secretly 'assist' in guarding him. The hawk seemed safe, but in reality, it was a bird chained in a cage by both parties, unable to move."
Xie Yan raised an approving eyebrow and took a sip of tea: "Smart. The hawk is nothing more than a bone tied around the necks of two hungry wolves. The wolves want to devour it all by themselves, but they are afraid the other will go crazy; the bone wants to run away, but both sides are watching it, and if it moves even slightly, it will be torn to pieces immediately."
Gu Jinghong pondered: "As for the second one..."
Xie Yan leaned forward slightly, lowered his voice, and said with a hint of amusement, "Perhaps our mysterious 'Lord of the Tower' has his roots... in this southwestern region, and may even... have a close relationship with Zhao Qian, this vassal king."
Gu Jinghong's pupils contracted slightly: "You mean... the host might be Zhao Qian's backer? Or, they're all part of the same group?"
Xie Yan looked out the window, as if pondering an answer.
"They may not be a single entity, but they must have a very deep connection. Anyone who has dealt with the Hidden Abyss Pavilion knows that the Pavilion Master only has four advisors under him, and all matters are jointly managed by the four of us. We are all the Pavilion Master's confidants. But now that Hawk is willing to work for the Pavilion Master outside of us, it means that he is the Pavilion Master's true 'confidant' and must have mastered too many core secrets. The Pavilion Master hiding him in Zhao Qian's residence is the safest choice."
"Firstly, the residence of a prince is not a place that ordinary people dare not explore, nor can they even get in; secondly, Zhao Qian has sufficient strength and motivation to protect the landlord's important 'assets.' This is equivalent to pressing the hot potato, the hawk, directly into the safest square on one's own chessboard. It prevents the opponent from stealing it, and it also prevents the piece from 'losing' itself."
"And Zhao Qian, of course, can also gain unimaginable benefits and support from this. This relationship is closer and more dangerous than the first type of 'co-management'."
Gu Jinghong listened and nodded, finding Xie Yan's words quite reasonable.
Regardless of the interpretation, it implies that the princely residence is a dangerous place, while the hawk is in the center of the vortex.
Xie Yan stretched and resumed his languid posture, glancing at her with his phoenix eyes.
"Sigh, for Ah Hong's game, this young master has no choice but to... sacrifice his looks and 'beauty' this time."
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